A few people drank alcohol, ate peanuts, and drank for a full two hours.
"How much?" When settling the bill, the leader stood dizzily beside Lin Wan.
"A total of six dollars and forty cents."
The young man burped and directly sprayed it on Lin Wan’s face, the nasty smell almost made Lin Wan throw up.
"Little sister, here’s seven bucks, no need for change." The young man fumbled in his pocket and counted seven dollars to her, as he handed over the money, he raised another hand to touch her face.
Just as he touched her, Lin Wan quickly dodged aside in fright.
The young man didn’t get angry, laughed a couple of times, didn’t make any more moves, squinted his lustful eyes at her, and left with his friends.
Seeing the people leave the door, Lin Wan finally let out a breath and relaxed her tense body.
With these local bullies, you shouldn’t confront them head-on, just ignore them and it’s fine.
Sister Ma hesitated all morning, and when she came in the afternoon, she happened to bump into the people who just left.
"Lin, did Er Qiangzi bring people here to dine at your place?"
Sister Ma pointed at the few people who had just left, "Did you see them? His father has some connections in town. Er Qiangzi often leads a gang of hooligans around town, few can manage him. Most people in town are simple and don’t want to get too tangled with him.
His dad relies on the people in town and has gained a lot of benefits, but his dad is low-key, can even pretend by setting up a stall in the market, making a show by selling pots and pans but also earns quite a bit of money; Er Qiangzi is unlike his dad, he’s not cautious. His dad has only one son, pampered since childhood, spends lavishly, never stops him, he hangs out with friends in town, a menace that no one can provoke, you better be careful not to provoke him in the future."
"Thank you Sister Ma for the reminder, I’ll be cautious in the future."
Sister Ma came to have Lin Wan knit a sweater for her, gave Lin Wan five bucks, and nervously asked Lin Wan to give her a receipt.
"Lin, what color do you think looks good on me?"
"Green, Sister Ma looks good in leaf green with your complexion." Lin Wan thought about Sister Ma’s usual clothing style, she likes bright colors, and bright clothes really suit her.
"...Alright, green it is. Put in some extra hours in the evening, try to finish it fast for me."
"Okay," Lin Wan took off her own garment, let Sister Ma try it on, it was slightly tight, Lin Wan calculated how many stitches need to be added.
The next day, when there wasn’t a market fair, Lin Wan went to town, picked out two and a half pounds of leaf green wool, one twenty per pound, two and a half pounds cost three bucks.
The remaining seven bucks was her labor fee.
That afternoon, the Er Qiangzi Sister Ma mentioned came again, this time he was alone, from the look on his face, he seemed in a bad mood.
He ordered two dishes and a bowl of noodles.
Throughout, Lin Wan was polite and didn’t offend him.
When settling the bill, he directly lit a cigarette and looked at Lin Wan saying, "Do you remember me, little sister?"
Lin Wan smiled and shook her head.
Er Qiangzi was a bit unhappy, "Last time I brought so many brothers to dine here, we spent seven bucks, and you still overcharged me six cents, you forgot?"
Lin Wan found it amusing, "Comrade, last time you said there’s no need for change, it was a tip." Wasn’t it a case of drunkenness? Yet you remembered this clearly.
"Oh, didn’t you say you don’t remember? Why has it come back to you now?"
"As long as you know who I am. My family lives at the east end of the village, the one selling pots and pans on East Street is my father. This time you can just put it on my tab," he said, getting up to leave.
Lin Wan hurriedly stopped him, with a smile saying, "Comrade, we run a small business here, no credit."
Er Qiangzi had roamed for over twenty years, first time encountering someone who wouldn’t show him face, immediately dropped his face, "Little girl, don’t you understand or what? I live right here, a local, can’t possibly run, it’s just a buck, would I really cheat you out of it?"